


Yonder Cloud

by piratesandpixiedust



Category: Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears (2020), Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:48:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28884141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piratesandpixiedust/pseuds/piratesandpixiedust
Summary: A rewrite of the quicksand scene, minus the quicksand.
Relationships: Phryne Fisher/Jack Robinson
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	Yonder Cloud

**Author's Note:**

  * For [whitenoise27](https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitenoise27/gifts).



> There is no quicksand in the desert, so I felt the need to rewrite that scene of the film. I'm also posting this as a birthday present for a friend, since she got me to watch the entire show in a month.

Phryne wiped the feeling of Abdul off her lips. _Well, that didn't go exactly as planned_ , she thought. She stared out at the vast dunes, parasol in hand, wondering how she would ever lead her small group across them before the eclipse. Even though she refused to travel with someone untrustworthy, she hoped that sending Abdul away wouldn't delay the group anyway.

"You could have told me that you planned to get rid of our only guide," Jack stomped past her towards their wayward camels. Or rather, he stomped as best as he could on the unsteady sands. 

"I didn't see the need," Phryne said, following him.

"So I should have blind faith, whatever you do?"

Phryne sighed. She wasn't having a great morning to begin with, and now her best friend was upset with her. And why shouldn't he have blind faith in her anyway? He'd watched her have blind faith in him: signing unknown documents without reading them, knowing he would come for her after a broadcast over the radio waves. But he hadn't finished his grumbling yet:

"Marrying maharajas. Meeting military deserters in the middle of the night."

"I invited you to that," she interjected.

"Seducing cameleers," Jack said.

"I didn't plan to seduce Abdul." Phryne was pretty sure he knew that already, though. What was he actually trying to tell her?

"You're missing the point." 

_That's because you aren't making one,_ Phryne held back the reply in her head.

"If you let me know what's going on, then _maybe_ ," he stopped walking to turn and look at her, "I could help."

"Well, maybe," Phryne marched right up to his insufferably beautiful face, "I'll be absolutely fine without having to explain myself to you or any other man. And if I need your help, I'll ask for it."

Jack looked directly into her eyes with his retort. "I won't hold my breath." After an indignant cock of his head, he turned and stomped away again.

Satisfied that she had the last word, Phryne watched the (very fine) view as he sauntered away from her. The gentle wind shifted the parasol in her hands, but she held it firmly in place. The only thing she held tighter than that umbrella was her words as she was determined not to speak to him again about this topic.

She waited until the urge to talk to him subsided, knowing that it wouldn't last for long, and marched up the dune behind him. He had reached the camels and was gently caressing Amany's fur, attempting to coax her into being lead back to the rest of the group. Phryne, however, walked right up to a seated Fatima and sat down on her back in a huff. Fatima was not amused, and could smell the irritation riddling off of Phryne's skin.

Though Phryne had done her best to hold her tongue, she couldn't help from making one final point.

"You know, Jack-" she began, but as she said his name, the hand holding the parasol came down to thwack Fatima with the butt of the handle. 

Fatima didn't take too kindly to the sudden movement and began to stand, her back legs rising from the ground. Phryne, feeling the movement beneath her, leaned back in an attempt to stay parallel with the ground while Fatima rose to stand. But as the camel was not wearing a saddle, there was no horn to hold on to. And despite her many dalliances throughout the years, Phryne’s thighs were not nearly strong enough to grip a firm hold on Fatima's back to keep herself upright. The wind picked up again, and shifted the parasol in Phryne's hand, but with an iron grip still on the handle, Phryne went forward with it. 

With Fatima's back legs extended, a wind gust taking the parasol, and the lack of strength in Phryne's thighs, she toppled headfirst over the camel’s head, taking a nose dive into the ground. 

Just yesterday, she had complained about her nostrils feeling dusty from inhaling the sands of the desert, but that was nothing compared to having sand shoved directly into her nostrils. Fortunately, she had closed her eyes before hitting the ground, but there still managed to be bits of sand in her eyes. She was momentarily grateful that Abdul had already removed her lipstick this morning so that the grit couldn’t wedge itself into the creases of her mouth.

Jack, still petting Amany, looked up at the sudden sound beside him. He stifled the guffaw that wanted to escape his throat and gave Fatima a wink over Phryne's head. 

"Jack?" Phryne’s breath blew grains of sand around her, and she inhaled some, as she pushed herself onto her hands. 

"Don't worry about it," he couldn't help laughing now, especially since Fatima decided her revenge wasn’t complete and spat at the back of Phryne’s hair. 

With a dry cough and sand-induced tears hovering in her closed eyes, Phryne whimpered towards the ground, "I need your help." 

He gently shook his head and reached out his hand to help her stand, but then realized Fatima still wasn't finished. She started towards Phryne with her mouth opened, fully intent to bite the top of her head. Jack jumped the last few steps towards Phryne, grabbed her arm, and yanked her to her feet. 

Stomping across the sands earlier had been relatively easy, but rushing backwards away from danger with Phryne in his arms proved to be a bit more challenging. Jack stumbled while holding her, landing on his back. Her head came down on his chest, and instead of rolling away, she embraced him. 

Hugging her back, Jack said, “after all the other stupid ways I’ve nearly lost you, I didn't think a camel biting your head off would make the list.”

“What stupid ways?" Phryne buried her face in his shirt, trying to hide her pain from him. Her eyes and nose stung, and if she was honest, her throat was a bit scratchy too.

Jack ignored the question. Instead, he gently lifted her face and began to wipe the sand from her cheeks with his sleeve.

She kept her eyes closed, though he could see the sting of tears hovering on her lashes. She attempted to open them, but they immediately closed again with the pain, loosening the tears to create a cascading path towards her jawline. Their dampness fell through the fabric of his shirt and seared tiny daggers into his chest. 

Unprompted and with a heavy sigh, Phryne explained in a single breath, “the reason that I married the Maharaja of Alwar was because his true love is the Prince of Padna. And if his bachelorhood had been confirmed by his enemies, then not only would he have lost his throne, but he would have been stoned to death.”

“You saved his life?” Jack asked. He wondered why such a reason for her marriage had never occurred to him before, when he knew full well that she would never settle down for love. “Well, I'm not sure how I could've helped with that one. But thank you for the explanation.” He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she hid her face in his shirt again and silently cried the rest of the sand away.

This hadn’t been a perfect morning, but at least Phryne had her best companion to help her get through the rest of this journey. As they stood to finally lead the camels back to the group, Phryne laughed as Fatima spat on Jack for attempting to calm her by petting her neck.

"She's a bit fiery that one." she told him.

"I think she gets it from you." said Jack, wiping his face.

Phryne smiled as she grabbed Amany's reins. Walking with Jack had always made her hard days just a little bit easier to bear. Today would be no exception.

  
  
  
  



End file.
